GROWING PECANS 
A few weeks ago I wrote an article for several 
papers stating that we would one day be pump- 
ing water out of the gulf to irrigate the west part 
of Texas with. As we get our forest killed out 
the land will get drier and drier each year, until 
our only recourse will be to pump water out of 
the gulf. The editors thought I was balmy for 
making such a statement. If it had been some 
army general that made the statement or some so- 
called scientist he would have had his name in all 
the papers. But people are now thinking war as 
soon as they quit thinking war they will realize 
there are teeming millions to feed. And we can 
not depend on the rains, the sea water will be puri- 
fied and pumped all over the nation. They could 
do this for what the last war cost, Meantime, the 
man who plants a pecan orchard and has it ready 
will have something worth while indeed. I often 
advise people to plant pecan trees in rows across 
the field. These rows can be two hundred yards 
apart. In a case like this the pecan trees can be 
set forty feet apart. I have advised planting black- 
berry plants between the pecan trees. This row 
will catch the drifting sands and build up, they 
will form a big reservoir below that will catch 
all the water that starts to run off the land. This 
would be one system of irrigating. I know a place 
that a man planted several rows of berries on cross 
ways with the way the wind blew. He nearly also 
had it cross way with the way the water ran, At 
this place where the berries grew for many years 
the sand is five feet deep. All the other land on the 
farm is gone. The land next to him, his neighbor’s 
farm, is also piled up along this old berry run. 
Pecan trees are now planted in this deep sand. 
They are wonderful and the drouth does not hurt 
them. The water runs off the hill and gets this sand 
terrace wet and it stays wet all season. All the 
rest of the place needs turning into pasture if it 
would make good pasture. 
It was Luther Burbank who said if he were a 
young man he would come to Texas and develop 
a big pecan orchard. Yes, I know pecan orchards 
that have failed, I know 
twenty feet apart, the trees came into bearing and 
one that was planted 
then they would bear a good crop until they got 
to crowding again. Then he would have to take out 
some more trees. The pecan trees are supposed to 
be a deep rooted tree and that is the theory many 
people go on in setting an orchard. But after they 
get a few years old they begin to send roots far 
and wide. It has been said that a big tree will 
send its roots as far as the branches spread. 1 
think they will send them much farther than that. 
I always calculated a tree will send its roots twice 
as far as it is high. 
I know pecans grow along the creeks without 
cultivation but if you want to raise fine big pe- 
cans that will make buyers open their eyes, then 
plant them in a field, give plenty of room and good 
cultivation. But by all means plan your orchard 
so the wind and rains can’t carry your soil away. 
I know some people say it will take too long 
for them to bear. Well sir, you are going to pass 
along that way anyhow. They will soon get around 
to bearing. You can get into the pecan business 
about as quick as you can get into the Hereford 
cattte business. Under my plan a good pecan tree 
will begin to bear in five years, enough to count 
and by the time they are seven years old they will 
be bearing a paying crop. It doesn’t take many 
pecans on a tree to count up. And by spraying 
your trees a crop is assured. The same thing ap- 
plies to the orchard business that applies in the 
cattle business. If a man does not apply himself 
to either it will not pay, But with our present 
machinery you can work a fifty acre pecan orchard 
in two days. And can work it eight times in six- 
teen days. Plant Vetch in the fall and fertilize 
the Vetch highly, say twice as much as you would 
ordinarily fertilize it. This will furnish a nice pas- 
ture in the winter time. Then peanuts, cotton or 
any other crop can be worked in the summer, al- 
ways keeping any other plant as far away as twice 
the heighth of the pecan trees and if the other 
plant is a tall grower, better add its heighth to 
twice the height of the pecans. 
You can have a fine winter pasture with Vetch 
besides making the nuts your trees will bear big- 
ger all the time. But never allow Bermuda grass in 
that 
matter. What I have stated about the pecans will 
a pecan orchard or any other orchard for 
apply to all kinds of trees. Remember this, the 
time has come when we will have to do things 
better than the other fellow to compete with him 
And now a word as to why my pecan trees are 
living so well. So far we have dug our trees by 
hand and as soon as one is dug it is immediately 
covered back up with soil until time to haul them 
out. Then the roots are exposed just as little as 
possible. Some trees are dead when they are ship- 
ped from the nursery but they are not our trees. 
If carefully handled this way not over ten per 
cent will be lost if you are careful not to let the 
roots get dry. One tree lost may mean a good deal 
in the future harvest. So far we have not used 
machinery to dig many pecans trees though we in- 
vented a way to dig them with tractors. They look 
fine dug that way but the roots are exposed too 
much as a rule. 
See PECANS on Page 26 and 27. 
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS 
